The present invention relates to a system of coding materials using a laser.
Automatic article identification has a number of advantages. For example, certain articles of clothing have unique value based on their brand name. Two substantially identical clothing items may have very different values based on the name. Moreover, the relative costs of such articles may be more pronounced in some markets than others. This is led to a practice whereby manyt manufacturers sell materials for use in only one country.
An item made by a company for use in one country which is sold in another country is often called grey-market. Because of the different pricing structures in place, there is an enormous possibility for profits when this is done.
Even more profitable, moreover, is the possibility of outright counterfeiting. Counterfeit articles can be very cheaply made, and often difficult to detect. The counterfeit articles cause signficant problems. Their quality cannot be controlled, and may weaken the public's confidence in the product. They also can represent significant lost profits to the actual authorized manfacturer.
Various techniques of product marking are known.